


Better Late Than Never

by MyriahKamm



Category: Free!
Genre: Angst, Character Death, Letters, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-01-11
Updated: 2015-01-11
Packaged: 2018-03-07 01:46:27
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,684
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3156353
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MyriahKamm/pseuds/MyriahKamm
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Rin decides to finally tell Rei about his feelings, but in the most romantic way possible: through a letter. Waiting for the response, though, turns out to be hell, in more ways than one. WARNING: super duper angst. Not even kidding.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Better Late Than Never

**Author's Note:**

> Written for RinRei Week 2!  
> Day 5 Prompt: Unrequited

It’s stupid that Rin didn’t say anything to Rei before he came to Australia. He had to many opportunities, like when he was teaching Rei to swim all the strokes, or when they had those joint practices, or at any of the tournaments where they swam together. This is something that should have been done in person. Doing this over the phone would be awkward, even worse through texts. Besides, neither of those methods really suit Rin’s romantic nature.

A letter, he decides, is a much better option.

Of course, that means lots of planning and a little bit of cunning. He wants to make sure he words everything just right so Rei won’t misunderstand or anything, and he wants it to be a surprise. It might take a few days for him to get it just right, but Rin wants it to be perfect.

It takes him a grand total of three weeks and several revisions for him to finally have what he deems to be the perfect letter:

 

_Dear Rei,_

_How’s it going, Speedo Megane? What’s it like being captain of your team? Pretty great, right? I know you’ll be amazing._

_Anyway, I wanted to do this in person, but I just kept getting cold feet and putting it off until it was too late, so here’s a letter instead. You’re very important to me, Rei. You saved me from myself two years ago. You gave up so much so that I could be happy, and I really appreciate that. You don’t know what it means to me that you refused to back down until you found out what was wrong with me and how you could fix it. None of the others would have pushed so hard, but you did. Your tenacity, your respect for me, they’ve made me respect and care for you deeply._

_I like you, Rei. I’ve fallen for you. Like I said, I wanted to tell you before I left, but I’ll admit, I was a little scared. I didn’t know what you would say, how you would react, and I was too much of a coward to face you and risk ruining our friendship over this._

_But as they say, absence makes the heart grow fonder, and I can’t keep it bottled up anymore. I need to tell you. So here’s my confession: I love you, Rei Ryugazaki. I love you with all my heart. I want to date you, if you’ll have me._

_I know this is a lot to take in, especially through a letter. I’m hoping this letter is enough to prove my sincerity. I wouldn’t hand-write a letter for just anyone, you know. Please, once you’ve taken all of this in, get in contact with me so you can tell me your answer._

_Yours,  
_ _Rin Matsuoka_

 

Rin already got Rei’s address from Makoto (he doesn’t trust Nagisa with a secret like that for a second), so he slips the letter into an envelope, addresses it to the bluenette, puts a stamp on it, and sends it off. The minute it’s in the mail, he starts to feel anxious about it. There’s no taking it back now. One way or another, Rei is finally going to know his feelings.

Weeks pass, and he doesn’t hear a word. Fortunately, training keeps him pretty busy, so Rin isn’t completely fixated on hearing back from Rei. He keeps reminding himself that it took him three weeks to write his letter; maybe Rei is just taking his time, too. Knowing the  _megane,_  he’s probably researching everything he can about relationships and dating and all of that, just to be sure he’s making the right decision or something.

After two months, though, Rin is completely heartbroken. A negative response would have been one thing, but absolutely  _no_  response? The redhead is sure he at least deserves  _something_. A text message saying no would suffice, for heaven’s sake! This…this is just cruel.

Heartbreak soon turns to hatred, and Rin wants absolutely nothing to do with Rei Ryugazaki ever again. He’s done with that jerk who doesn’t even have the decency to give him an answer. Can’t that idiot  _megane_ tell how much this means to him? No, he convinces himself, he doesn’t care at all about Rei anymore.

Which is why the phone call shocks him so much.

"Hey, Makoto, what’s up?" he asks, his phone wedged between his ear and his shoulder as he laces up his sneakers in preparation for his morning run.

<”It’s Rei.”> Makoto’s voice is strained, and cracks when he continues. <”There was an accident…he didn’t make it.”>

A numbness overtakes Rin. He doesn’t even realize he’s dropped the phone until he hears it clatter noisily to the floor. Tears fill his eyes and roll down his cheeks. His hands are shaking as he reaches down to pick up his phone once more and hold it to his ear.

<”…re you there?”>

"Yeah, Makoto, I’m here," Rin murmurs, his voice empty, flat. "I’ll get on a plane over there as soon as I can."

The next day or so passes in a blur. Rin gets on a plane and, the next thing he knows, he’s in Iwatobi with his friends. Everyone hugs him, and he’s just utterly numb the entire time. It’s as though this is happening in a dream.

_There’s no way this could be real, right?_  Rin thinks, completely lost in his thoughts. _Rei can’t be gone. I don’t care if he didn’t answer me, I don’t care if he’s a jerk. He can’t…he can’t be dead._

"Rin? Are you listening?"

The redhead looks up slowly. Makoto is standing in front of him, an envelope in his hand. He takes Rin’s hand and places the envelope into it, both his hands lingering for a moment.

"It’s from Rei," Makoto says softly. "His mom said he was going to send it to you, and that he was really excited about it."

Swallowing thickly, Rin closes his hand around the envelope. When Makoto’s hands leave his, he reaches out quickly, taking hold of the brunette’s wrist and shaking his head.

"Stay," he murmurs. "I need you."

Nodding, Makoto sits down next to him. Rin stares at the front of the envelope, at the meticulous handwriting addressing the letter to him in Australia. This is Rei’s response to his letter. This is the answer he’s been waiting for for so long. Is there even a point to reading it now? Closing his eyes, he opens the envelope, pulls out the letter inside, unfolds it, and opens his eyes to stare at it for a minute or two. He takes a deep breath before he begins reading.

 

_Dear Rin,_

_I must first apologize for the tardiness of this response. I admit to being completely shocked when I received your letter and read it. I have never deemed myself one worthy of so much praise, nor worthy of such intense feelings._

_Your words touched me as none have before, and that left me confused. I knew I would need to study as many theories on relationships and dating as I could before I could give you a proper answer. Please do not misunderstand; my gut reaction was to say yes immediately, to call you and tell you that yes, I would love nothing more than to be your boyfriend. But instinct has failed me before, and I wanted to be absolutely sure that this was the correct course of action to take before actually taking it._

_I realize now that I was putting off telling you because I, too, was afraid. Not afraid of your reaction, of course, but afraid of failing you. Afraid of not being everything you wanted me to be. Afraid of being a sub-par boyfriend. I am sure it seems childish to you that I have been worrying about these things, but the last thing I would ever want to do is let you down, Rin._

_Forgive me for doubting myself for so long. I am sure you have been eagerly awaiting my answer, and now I feel I am ready to give it. I would love nothing more than to be your boyfriend, Rin Matsuoka. Where I once found love illogical, I now realize that it is one of the most fulfilling feelings a person can experience. I do love you; truth be told, I believe I fell in love with you when I saw you swim with my teammates at regionals two years ago. I have loved you for so long without having the correct words to attribute to the feeling._

_Please consider this letter an acceptance of your confession, and the beginning of our new romantic relationship._

_Yours with love,  
Rei Ryugazaki_

 

Rin drops the letter the moment he finishes reading it. Rei said yes. It took him almost two and a half months, but he said yes. Tears are streaming down his cheeks before he knows it, and Makoto’s arms find their way around him. Rin curls into his best friend’s embrace and sobs into his chest.

~*~*~*~*~*~

Two weeks later, Rin is on his way to the train station. He needs to be getting back to Australia, and his flight leaves in a few hours. Taking a detour, though, he stops by a memorial stone, setting his bags down on the ground. The redhead clears away a few weeds and runs his fingers over the letters on the stone.

"Hey there, Speedo Megane," he says softly, a sad smile on his lips. "I got your letter. You should have sent it sooner, dork." He shakes his head a bit. "I’ve got to be heading back. Wouldn’t want to let you down by not making it to the Olympics now, right? So I’m going to train hard, and I’m going to make it. Just you wait. I’m going to bring back a gold medal to show you."

Leaning forward, Rin presses a kiss to the stone. “I love you, Rei.”

Picking up his bags, he slings them over his shoulder and heads off to the train station.

**Author's Note:**

> I cried so much while writing this. And then I cried again proofreading it. I'm a monster. You can and should hate me for writing this.


End file.
